We Went for a Ride
by kerrykhat
Summary: What would happen if we kept driving and never looked back?" Buffy asked.


A calm hush blanketed the snow-covered earth, brought about by the approaching twilight hour. The setting sun cast a warm glow over the white expanse, providing a momentary sensation of heat in an otherwise frigid day. The only sign that the world wasn't hibernating was the lone car on the road, its occupants seemingly oblivious to the world around them.

"We have to back sometime, sweetheart," the driver said, sparing a glance at his passenger. She didn't say anything, but continued to stare out the window. "Buffy…"

"I heard you, Dean," she answered, giving him a tired smile. "I don't want to go back just yet. I'm not ready to be reality girl again. Not for another couple of hours, at least." Dean's hand snaked across the seat and snagged Buffy's hand.

"We don't have to go back just yet," he conceded, dividing his focus between the icy road ahead of him and the woman beside him. Although he didn't say it, he agreed with Buffy's desire to evade reality for a little while longer and stay in the car with her for however long it was necessary to outrun their troubles.

"Is it bad I don't want to go back?" she asked in a small voice. Dean untangled his hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"No, it's not," he answered, ignoring the sudden tightness in his throat. "I want to do the same damn thing, Princess."

"I told you not to call me that," she retorted, a real smile illuminating her face.

"Since when do I ever listen?" Dean asked, hoping he could keep her in this good mood for the rest of their drive. Buffy just shook her head and snuggled into his arm.

_We went for a ride  
We went for a ride  
Oh yea, we went for a ride  
Ladadyo, we went for a ride  
Oh oh we went for a ride  
Under cover of the twilight  
And the traffic on the road  
And there's only you and I  
I hope we never get back home  
'Cause I'm feeling serenaded  
By the coming of the night  
And I wish we'd go forever  
And I wish we could just_

"What would happen if we just kept driving and never looked back?" Buffy asked a few minutes later, as the setting sun cast her delicate features into stark profile.

"Sammy and your sister would raise hell until they found us," Dean remarked, wondering why Buffy was fixated on driving away from everything. It wasn't like her and it was worrying him.

"You mean they'd get into so much trouble the only way to solve it would be to come in and save their asses," Buffy snorted before sadness settled over her features again. "It would be nice, you know, if we could just drive away from all of our problems and not have them waiting for us when we get back."

_Drive away  
We could drive away  
We could drive away  
Into the night_

They stopped for a brief moment to fill up on gas and to exchange a sad, breathless kiss on the hood of the Impala. Buffy clung to Dean like he might disappear at any moment and savored the taste he left in her mouth. Dean ran his fingers through her hair and tried to memorize the silky feeling and the scent of vanilla that clung to him hours later.

As they kept driving through the desolate countryside, they remained in comfortable silence, each soaking up the presence of the other and finding some sort of solace in it.

"Let's stop here," Buffy said, finally breaking the silence. Dean looked to where she was pointing and saw that it was a place on the road overlooking the valley below. He hadn't been aware of even reaching the sloping hills; he had been so intent on just savoring the moment with Buffy as if it would be his last. He pulled the Impala carefully into the spot and turned it off. Buffy scooted closer to him as they watched the red sun sink below the horizon.

_We went for a ride  
With your words of consolation  
And the trees of crystal white  
I'll be praying for a red light  
To extend this precious night_

"It's not fair, Dean," she whispered into his chest as he cradled her close, after what felt like hours sitting in the idle car, watching the stars appear. "Why can't there be a way to save you?" He tightened his grip around her and closed his eyes.

"Trust me, sweetheart, I want there to be one," he answered in a rough voice. "I wi…" He stopped himself before he could say the forbidden "w" word, but his intention was clear. "It would be nice for there to be a way out of this damn deal without getting Sam killed." He tried to banish the images of Hell that were his near constant companions, and tried to refocus his attention on the woman in his arms.

"Can we just forget about it for one night and pretend that it's just the two of us, with nothing holding us back?" Buffy asked, eyes searching desperately for the answer she wanted to hear. Dean didn't say anything, lowering his head to kiss her passionately.

"Sure thing, Buffy," he whispered hoarsely when they broke apart. He started the car and began driving again, with Buffy tucked against his right side. They lost track of the hours, marking no time except when they would pull to the side of the road and kiss desperately in the front seat. For that brief night, they had no worries, no cares in the world.

They snuck back into the training facility as the sun's first rays touched the eastern sky and collapsed into bed together, too tired to do anything except sleep. When first Dawn, and then Sam, came to look for them, they found a sleeping couple too tired to even notice the presence of their nosy younger siblings.

_'Cause we both know where I'm going  
And we know it just ain't right  
But there's nothing we can do  
Except to keep on moving  
Drive away  
We could drive away  
We could drive away  
Into the night_

The day came too soon where Buffy felt like her world had been ripped apart and broken beyond repair. When news came that Dean had been ripped to shreds by hellhounds, Buffy locked herself in her room and refused to move for days.

"I'm worried about her, Willow, she won't talk to me," she heard Dawn cry outside her door one day. Finally, Buffy couldn't take it any more, so she snuck out her window and commandeered one of the school cars. She lost track of time and where she was going, only to be snapped out of her daze when she realized she had reached the same spot in the road where she and Dean had watched the sun set months before. She stopped the car and stared at the space before her before sobs began to shake her small frame.

"Damn it, Dean," she cried, clutching the steering wheel for support. She resisted the urge to hit it, knowing that she wouldn't be able to hold back her strength if she did so. She felt so alone without him and didn't know what to do. "You'd want me to soldier on, wouldn't you, Dean?" she whispered, hoping to get an answer out of thin air. Getting none, she started the car and drove away, trying her best to outrun her loneliness.

_We went for a ride  
We went for a ride  
We went for a ride  
We went for a ride  
Here we are  
We are alone together  
We went for a ride_


End file.
